The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course, 2nd Edition

This new edition brings the fascinating and intriguing history
of mathematics to life

The Second Edition of this internationally acclaimed text has
been thoroughly revised, updated, and reorganized to give readers a
fresh perspective on the evolution of mathematics. Written by one
of the world's leading experts on the history of mathematics, the
book details the key historical developments in the field,
providing an understanding and appreciation of how mathematics
influences today's science, art, music, literature, and
society.

In the first edition, each chapter was devoted to a single
culture. This Second Edition is organized by subject matter: a
general survey of mathematics in many cultures, arithmetic,
geometry, algebra, analysis, and mathematical inference. This new
organization enables students to focus on one complete topic and,
at the same time, compare how different cultures approached each
topic. Many new photographs and diagrams have been added to this
edition to enhance the presentation.

The text is divided into seven parts:

The World of Mathematics and the Mathematics of the World,
including the origin and prehistory of mathematics, cultural
surveys, and women mathematicians

Numbers, including counting, calculation, ancient number
theory, and numbers and number theory in modern mathematics

Color Plates, illustrating the impact of mathematics on
civilizations from Egypt to Japan to Mexico to modern Europe

Space, including measurement, Euclidean geometry,
post-Euclidean geometry, and modern geometrics

Algebra, including problems leading to algebra, equations and
methods, and modern algebra

Analysis, including the calculus, real, and complex
analysis

Mathematical Inference, including probability and statistics,
and logic and set theory

As readers progress through the text, they learn about the
evolution of each topic, how different cultures devised their own
solutions, and how these solutions enabled the cultures to develop
and progress. In addition, readers will meet some of the greatest
mathematicians of the ages, who helped lay the groundwork for
today's science and technology.

The book's lively approach makes it appropriate for anyone
interested in learning how the field of mathematics came to be what
it is today. It can also serve as a textbook for undergraduate or
graduate-level courses. An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed
solutions to all the problems in the book is available upon request
from the Wiley editorial department.

ROGER COOKE, PHD, is Williams Professor of Mathematics, University of Vermont, and has served as an associate editor of Historia Mathematica. Dr. Cooke has authored other key titles in the field as well as translated several books by Russian mathematicians into English.

“This book should engage students, and Chapters 1-4
contain a great deal of material that students usually have to find
outside their textbook: background history, relationship of
mathematics to the broader culture, and a great deal of information
on women in mathematics. Once the students are taken in by
the story, it will be the instructor’s job to elaborate on
the historical calculations and proofs. For an experienced
instructor in a history of mathematics class, this is an ideal
situation; both the instructor and the text get to do their
jobs.” (Mathematical Association of America,
16 July 2013)

"The second edition…is a jewel. It is notable for what it
includes as well as what it does not. But most importantly, it is a
jewel for its presentation." (MAA Reviews, January 15,
2007)

"…a remarkably well-compiled format…recommended as a
textbook for an undergraduate course; in addition...can appeal to
readers interested in the history of science and to a general
audience." (E-STREAMS, November 2006)

"An amazing assemblage of worldwide contributions in mathematics
and, in addition to use as a course book, a valuable
resource…essential." (CHOICE, November 2005)

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